A stylish "Saved by the Bell"

Except for the occasional bad word and mentions of sex this show was
nothing
more than innocent teen fodder in the tradition of "Saved by the Bell".
Though stylish it fails to match the cleverness, hipness and satire of the
original 1995 hit film. The pacing of the show seems off as well and Cher's
commentary, a highlight in the film, here it seems like it's coming from a
completely different show. The show hardly even resembles the film, if it
wasn't trying to be like the movie then they should have changed the name
but since they stuck with the title "Clueless" then they should have tried
to keep the spirit of the film. On it's own it's pretty lighthearted fun so
if you haven't seen the film then you might enjoy it but if you're a fan of
the film then this series might depress you especially considering that so
many of the same people who worked on the film also worked on the show
including writer/director Amy Heckerling and producers Twink Caplan, Julie
Brown and Scott Rudin.

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4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:

Blanchard's the biggest problem

The first season of the TV version of the hit movie reassembled a good
chunk of the movie's cast, plus the movie's director Amy Heckerling as
executive producer. So why was it such a pale imitation? Two words:
Rachel Blanchard.

Blanchard took over as lead character Cher from Alicia Silverstone (who
understandably had other things to do at the time). Though Blanchard
was physically right for the role, her flat performance makes you
realize how perfect Silverstone really was for the role, with her
fizzy, lighthearted, charismatic performance. Blanchard, by contrast,
was dull as dishwater, with no spunk or charisma or anything. She
pulled the whole series down. They should have hired Christine Taylor
(Marcia in "The Brady Bunch" movies) instead.

The second season got even worse. Moving to a smaller network (from ABC
to UPN) necessitated budget cuts, so Heckerling was gone as well as
movie vets Wallace Shawn and Twink Caplan. "Very special episodes"
started to creep in as well. Ugh.

Skip this one and rent the movie again instead.

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6 out of 10 people found the following review useful:

Watch the movie instead!

This show was a total embarrassment to one of the few truly good teen
movies. I remember being excited to watch this series, but it disgusted me
so much that I could barely sit through it. 'Clueless' is a highly
original
and charming movie, but in the series they just turned it into a typical
'90s sitcom that almost NOBODY liked.

I'll just leave it at that. If you like dime-a-dozen sitcoms, then this is
the show for you. Otherwise, forget it.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Movie was Austen but TV was Hannah Montana

Amy Heckerling turned her movie success into TV mediocrity. All the
originality and joy is squeezed into kiddie wackiness. It lasted three
seasons and was probably one season too long. Rachel Blanchard is the
new Cher. Stacey Dash, Donald Faison, and Elisa Donovan revised their
movie roles.

Whether it's the expected lower production value or the weaker teen
level story lines, the movie was Austen and the TV show was Hannah
Montana. However I don't blame any of it on the cast especially Rachel
Blanchard. She does a pretty good version of Cher. Stacey Dash, Donald
Faison and Elisa Donovan return to do the TV show. They all do a
fabulous job.

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Echoes of past sitcom greatness

It's a mistake to compare "Clueless," the sitcom, with "Clueless," the
moved on which it is based. A more apt comparison is with "The Many
Loves of Dobie Gillis." Although separated by decades, the shows share
a sharp writing style and great supporting roles (compare William
Schallert and Wallace Shawn). Rachel Blanchard (no relation) was
well-suited for the starring role; her portrayal of Cher was more like
a high school student than Alicia Silverstone's in the movie. That
said, "Clueless" the sitcom started strong, peaked, and began its
declines all in its first season. Subsequent episodes seemed strained
and self-conscious.

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2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:

A great low key tribute to a hilarious classic

The T.V. series "Clueless" takes off right where the extremely funny film
left off. Here we find the character of Cher Horowitz portrayed by newcomer
Rachel Blanchard, but the rest of the cast remains in tact. Minor characters
like Ty and Josh have been removed (which makes sense because their
"stories" were neatly wrapped up in the film) and instead we focus on the
day to day adventures and teen-struggles of Cher, Dionne, Murray and Amber.
The series takes the sardonic outlook of 90s teens that made the movie a
success and expounds on it with great effect. The expansion of the Amber
character to be a double edged uber-villain-cum-confidant is beneficial and
often makes the episodes so enjoyable.

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2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:

A full on Monet...

What a let down! I was so excited to learn of the existence of the
television series 'Clueless'. I loved the movie with Alicia Silverstone and
was looking forward to weekly installments of Cher's life. The television
series pales in contrast to the movie. It lacks the same zest as appeared in
the screen version. Rachael Blanchard can't quite carry it off the way
Silverstone as is the case with Doug Sheehan who plays Mel. Overall, this
series is really a Monet; alright from afar but up close it's just a big
ol' mess.

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4 out of 8 people found the following review useful:

oh dear oh dear oh dear

yet another example of industry bigwigs trying to milk success far beyond
the limit. What made the film a success was the way in which Jane Austen's
Emma was cleverly adapted for 1990s Los Angeles. The television version
removes all trace of Austen and adds extra vacuity - this may be an ironic
gesture, but somehow that seems doubtful. Overall, a steaming pile of
pants.

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4 out of 8 people found the following review useful:

There are Differences Between the Movie and the T.V. Show

The movie itself is not my all time favorite, but after seeing both the
movie and the t.v. show, there are some differences. Number one, the t.v.
show lacks in continuity with the movie. For example, why is Lawrence
(the
character who was seen shaving Murray's head in the movie) called Sean on
the t.v. show? The show also seems a bit hypocritical when you compare it
to the movie. For example, the show had many episodes that could be
considered "special episodes" i.e. episodes bringing up the subjects of
teenage pregnancy, drive by shootings, smoking, drunk driving, and safe
sex.
Also in a "special episode" the cast would usually come on at the end of
the episode to deliver a special service announcement; I always hated it
when sitcoms would do that type of thing because it's overused in my
opinion
and preachy). When you see this and then look at the movie, you can find
a
scene were characters are seen smoking pot but not much emphasis was
placed
on it. As for the comedy, the humor comes off as being lame and much of
the
slang words from the movie are missing in the show.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Left Clueless Because I Haven't Really Seen It

Only saw some episodes years ago, and as a fan of the movie, liked it.
Trying to find it on DVD is useless. Downloading it from the Net? Only
a couple whole episodes, lots of parts adding up to incomplete
experiences. Seems every bit as great as I remember it. Judging by one
of the reviews, there are people who compare it unfavorably to the
movie, and trashes it instantly. Okay, it does take getting used to, we
do miss Alicia Silverstone, but Rachel deserved credit as well. This is
so much better than so many of the other stuff out there. And SABRINA
THE TEENAGE WITCH got released on DVD but not CLUELESS? That spoiled
little brat is considered a better marketing venture? My vote would
have gone unreservedly to CLUELESS, even without Lady Alicia.

There really should be a DVD release! And don't worry, Rachel, you have
fans too!